Morning News Call – India, August 10

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FACTORS TO WATCH
10:00 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at inauguration of “World Biofuel
Day” program in New Delhi
10:00 am: NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant to inaugurate Investors’ Conference
for the Holistic Development of Islands in New Delhi
02:30 pm: State Bank of India earnings conference call in Mumbai
05:00 pm: Government to release June Industrial production data in New Delhi
05:00 pm: RBI to release weekly foreign exchange data in Mumbai
05:00 pm: Union bank of India earnings press conference in Mumbai
GMF: LIVE CHAT - KSA-CANADA ROW
Over the week, political tensions have flared up between Saudi Arabia and
Canada. Saudi has called back students, expelled the Canadian ambassador and
halted new trade. We speak to Nader Hashemi, Director of the Center for Middle
East Studies, Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of
Denver, on the political and economic ramifications of these actions and also on
MBS' plans for KSA over the next couple of decades at 9:30 am IST. To join the
conversation, click on the link: here
INDIA TOP NEWS
Indian court grants Vedanta conditional access to its copper smelter
The National Green Tribunal on Thursday granted Vedanta conditional access
to its copper smelter in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the state government
two months ago on environmental grounds.
FOCUS- Apple's mettle in India tested in squabble over anti-spam app
For almost two years, Apple has battled India's telecom regulator over a
demand that it allow the use of the government's anti-spam app. Non-compliance,
the watchdog threatened last month, could result in phones being "derecognised"
from the country's networks, meaning they would no longer function.
India regulator, who took on Facebook, Apple, to stay on for 2 more years
Ram Sewak Sharma, the head of India's telecoms regulator who took on global
giants Facebook and Apple, has been given two more years in his assignment,
which was due to end today.
India's Jindal Steel and Power posts profit after 14 quarters
India's Jindal Steel and Power Ltd JNSP.NS posted its first profit in 15
quarters on Thursday and beat analysts' estimates, helped by higher iron and
steel sales.
India's Aurobindo Pharma Q1 profit misses estimates
Aurobindo Pharma Ltd ARBN.NS reported a 12 percent fall in quarterly profit
on Thursday and missed analysts' expectations, hurt by higher expenses.
India launches 2nd auction of small discovered oil & gas blocks
India launched its second auction of small discovered oil and gas blocks on
Thursday, as the south Asian nation looks to quickly monetise its hydrocarbon
resources.
GLOBAL TOP NEWS
Japan holds out for multilateral trade approach with US in new talks
Top U.S. and Japanese trade officials said they better understood each
other's positions after talks on Thursday, while Tokyo appeared to stick to its
position of avoiding a bilateral free-trade agreement.
Japan's economy rebounds on brisk spending but trade rifts cloud outlook
Japan's economy grew more than expected in the second quarter, helped by
strong household and business spending and recovering from a contraction earlier
this year, but global trade tensions loom as major risks to the export and
investment outlook.
Russia denounces new U.S. sanctions as illegal, mulls retaliation
Russia condemned a new round of U.S. sanctions as illegal on Thursday and
said it had begun working on retaliatory measures after news of the curbs pushed
the rouble to two-year lows over fears Moscow was locked in a spiral of
never-ending sanctions.
LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK
(As reported by NewsRise)
SGX Nifty nearest-month futures were almost flat at 11,485.50.
The Indian rupee is expected to open lower against the U.S. currency after
the dollar index climbed to its highest in a year amid a broad decline in
emerging market currencies.
Indian government bonds are expected to open higher as crude oil prices
continue their downward trend, but any major rise is unlikely ahead of a fresh
supply of notes. Yield on the benchmark 7.17 percent bond maturing in 2028 is
likely to trade in a 7.70 percent -7.76 percent band today.
GLOBAL MARKETS
• The S&P 500 and Dow ended down slightly on Thursday as gains in Apple
AAPL.O and Amazon AMZN.O were offset by losses in energy and financial
shares.
• Asian stock markets fell amid heightened global trade tensions, while
currency markets were whipsawed by a searing selloff in Russia's rouble after
the United States slapped on new sanctions, and as economic worries sent the
Turkish lira tumbling.
• The dollar rose against most major currencies on Thursday in thin summer
trading, as investors bet global trade tensions and a robust American economy
would continue to support the U.S. currency.
• The U.S. 30-year Treasury bond's rally accelerated in late U.S. trading on
Thursday, as the S&P 500 and Dow stock prices ended lower, adding some
safe-haven bids to earlier demand following a fair $18 billion 30-year
auction.
• Oil markets were torn between concerns that the U.S.-China trade dispute
would stall economic growth, while Washington's sanctions against Iran were
expected to tighten supplies.
• Gold prices held broadly steady after dipping the session before, drawing
some support from global political tensions and a slightly weaker dollar against
the yen.
CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT
PNDF spot 68.64/68.67 August 9 $53.96 mln $235.29 mln
10-yr bond yield 7.74 pct Month-to-date $153.17 mln $828.87 mln
Year-to-date -$426.34 mln -$4.92 bln
For additional data:
India govt bond market volumes
Stock market reports
Non-deliverable forwards data
Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD]
Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT]
Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN]
($1 = 68.7500 Indian rupees)